The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-06-18

we must beg leave to vote the story a
very thin one. Ii should be ciassed with
Iivingstones tooth ache story. We
doubt if the great African traveller ever
had the jumping tooth ache. or he would
have found some other comparison for
his mosquito sting.
As to- our assertion that mosquitoes
have routed wild beasts. vanquished ar
mics and depOpulated cities. there i the
following evidence: Ammianus Marcel
linus. a Roman author. tells us that the
lions of MesOpotamia We're so tormented
by gna,s as tn rush into the water and
drown: also. that they would tear their
eyes out by clawing at the gnats. and SO
go mad. Others tell us of cities which
were relieved of a scourge of lions by an
army of gnats, which drove the beasts
away. Whether the inhabitants gained
by the exchange is question. Walls
which would repel a lion would be
scorned by mosquito.
As to the stories of armies being de
feated by mosquitoes. one instance given
Is that of the army of Julian the Apos-
tate which was forced to turn back by "A
flight of gnats. But the most de
tailed story is that respecting the
army of Sapor, King of Persia
man city of Nlsbis. i'm the year 800 A. d.
ut SltSt WstS a Sflstl II oilt. tltt 1tdI-
rative goes that James, the bishop of the
city, prayed that plague of flies and
gnats might be sent against tine Persian
host. Scarcely had be ended when
swarms rose like clouds, and poured up
on the bewildered Persians, sounding
their small trumpets in defiance. They
filled the trunks of the elephants and the
ears and nOstrils of the horses. These
tormented animals broke into IA fury of
tI,ast- IL 4I..J
Persians We're obliged to break camp and
follow, perhaps to overtake their ami
mails. perhaps to get away from the mos
quitoes. We may be excused from ac-
cepting the miraculous part of this story.
but there Is no special reason to doubt
the rout of the army.
As to the depopulariOn of cities, one
writer, Moutfet, gives several instances.
One case will suffice as an illustration
Myus, an ancient seaport of Asia Minor.
was assailed with such fury by an army
of mosquitoes, that the inhabitants in
continently fled. At one time this city
was populous and fiourishIng. But
the river Meander formed dam
which cut off the bay from the
sea. and made it fresh-water
lake. This still water became a special
breeding place for mosquitoes, which
rose i'll such swarms that the inhabit-
ants were III utter torture. Instead Of
cutting through the dam and letting the
sea water into their lake, as a modern
engineer would have done. they packed
up their goods and ran for dear life.
The dismayed citizens found a refuge in
the city of Miletus, and left the gnats
masters of the field of battle. The city
was never afterward settled. 1t gradu-
ally disappeared, and in the second cen
fury only a temple of Bacchus, of white
stone. marked the site.
And here we will end our narration
We might take up the philosophical
problem. ''Of what Use is the mos
quito, and why was it created"
but have not the courage to venture
on such a deep subject in the dog
days. We fear that in the very
midst of our deep reasoning, and just
when we had fully demonstrated that
the mosquito had no right to live, and
that its appearance on the earth was a
sheer mistake of nature, some vengeful
mosquito might take up the other
side of the argument, and dab his bill
into our expanded brow, angriIy hum
ming the remark: That's what L was
sent to earth for: to punish you and your
race for your arrogant claim that the
earth belongs only to you. We for
bear. We could have made "A good ar
gument, but we forbear. We will not
venture to question the striking point
made by our tiny opponent, lest we
should be met 10y another point more in
cisive still. Like the inhabitants of
Myrus we take up our goods and fly,
leaving the field to the triumphant
Culex. Gu ARLES NORRIS.